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Collection online

The Strangford Apollo

Object type

Museum number

1864,0220.1

Title (object)

The Strangford Apollo

Description

Parian marble statue of a boy. Statue of nude standing youth. The legs from below the knees and the arms from the middle of the biceps are missing. The end of the nose, one or two curls, and the right side of the chin are abraded. The back is weather-stained.The figure faces the front, balanced on both legs; the right leg slightly drawn back, the left slightly advanced with the left knee bent. Both upper arms were bent back, and there is no trace of attachment of the hands, which must have been free of the body.The head is square-shaped, the face short and broad. The hair is arched over the forehead in two rows of spiral curls (three in front of the ears). A narrow fillet runs round the head above the curls, above which the hair is treated in waved flat tresses radiating from the crown; the ends are turned up from the neck in a roll, tucked under and over the fillet (the so-called crobylos). Five holes are drilled into the hair, one over the middle of the forehead, one over the right ear, two over the left and one, larger, on the top of the head.The forehead is low, the eyebrows long and arched, the upper eyelid separated by a groove. The eyes are small and set horizontally. The nose was broad, the mouth is small and straight, the lips in a bow, the corners very slightly grooved. The body forms are muscular; collar bone and chest bones are emphasised. Below the chest the epigastrium is framed by a slight ridge and its surface is divided up by the median and two horizontal grooves. Similarly under the armpits the ribs are clearly marked and framed off towards the back by a raised surface. The lower abdomen is overlong; the navel is placed high and eye-shaped. The back is modelled with a strongly incurved waist and heavy buttocks. The legs show an exaggeration of the thigh muscles, the kneecaps are carefully worked.Parian marble.